Bacteria, viruses and pathogens oh my! We live in nature, and our world is full of all kinds of critters that can cause problems for us. When those problems come from something we eat, nothing seems to violate our sense of security more. When that very thing we need turns against us, there’s a deep sense of betrayal. Last year America watched a well-known national burrito chain suffer the pain of making people sick. This brings us to the question: is our food chain safe?

According to the Center for Disease Control (CDC), the three most common and serious food supply bugs we face are E-coli, listeria, and salmonella. All three of these are naturally occurring critters. They are also preventable. It’s when there is a failure in the process that opens the door for one of these nasties to break free. What are these processes?

Safe growing and harvesting practices, safe production and distribution, and safe preparation and storage. How do you control these critters? Mostly by temperature control, preventing cross contamination, and what’s called Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point (HACCP) management. In a CDC 10-year study, the number one category for food-borne illnesses was produce, by a margin of greater than four to one over the next food category (poultry). So in that light, let’s focus on produce.

After the 2006 spinach E. coli outbreak, California instituted the Leafy Greens Agreement, a robust and forward thinking move to standardize processes for food safety. This led to the federal 2011 Food Safety Modernization Act. It created significant guidelines in how our growing fields are managed, and specific processes for sanitation in production. However, as our produce is grown outdoors, there are things like birds, squirrels, and other natural factors that can interfere with product integrity. So after harvest, we turn to the production process as a backup. I enjoyed a visit to Taylor Farms a few years ago in the Salinas Valley of California, and witnessed their impressive triple wash system. The entire facility is kept strictly within the temperature control zone which does not allow pathogens to grow. After that, distribution steps in. Time and temperature are the primary focus. The distributor’s job is to protect the cold chain, a vital part of the HAACP plan and critical in pathogen control.

After delivery to the end-user restaurants or grocers, HAACP continues in proper storage and cooking processes. The Spokane Regional Health District has resources for Critical Control Points (CCP), for you to review. There is a lot of good information for home safety, too (srhd.org).

Since we don’t live in a perfect world, breakthroughs do occur, triggering a recall. Food distributors play a key role in the recall process, helping manufacturers retrieve products named in a recall from the marketplace as quickly as possible. Recalls generally come from two sides, the manufacture/producer, or from the end-user/local health district. Once a recall is announced, it is classified level one through three, level one being the most urgent. The “lot code” or “use by,” is imperative to providing traceable information on where products come from. Distributors track these codes, and use these and other delivery data to find the customers who purchased recall cases. When a recall is issued, customers can be contacted within two to four hours with specific instructions on what to do. Traceability is important.

Our food chain is much safer than it was 10 years ago. Best practices, HACCP, and traceability all add up to increased confidence in how your food is handled, and where it’s coming from.

Food for thought.

If only the recall system worked this well in my fantasy league. How do I initiate a recall on that?

Chris Patterson is the Director of Business Solutions at Food Services of America.  He is a 30 year veteran of the hospitality and restaurant industry and has conducted more than 700 trainings, seminars, and consulting sessions with Inland Northwest operators.